People almost got killed over fake news...

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...zzagate-went-fake-news-real-problem-dc-busin/


How Pizzagate went from fake news to a real problem for a D.C. business

Fake news became all too real over the weekend after a North Carolina man entered a Washington pizzeria with an assault rifle in an attempt to "self-investigate" a false but persistent conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton.

The baseless theory is that the business was a front for a child sex ring run by Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager.

Edgar Maddison Welch, a 28-year-old man from Salisbury, N.C., walked into Comet Ping Pong in the capital around 3 p.m. on Dec. 4. Police said pointed his gun at a worker, who fled, and then Welch started firing the rifle inside the restaurant, theWashington Post reported.

Patrons and other employees also ran away, police said. The suspect, who allegedly had an AR-15-style rifle and other weapons, surrendered to police and was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. There were no reported injuries.

Welch told police he was there to check into unfounded rumors that Comet Ping Pong, which hosts children’s parties and occasionally small concerts, was actually part of what the Internet has dubbed "Pizzagate."

D.C. police described Pizzagate as "a fictitious online conspiracy theory" in its press release for Welch’s arrest. But where did this theory come from?

Pizzagate's origins

The conspiracy theory spread through viral emails, discussion threads and social media in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

The rumor first began after WikiLeaks released Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s emails.

Users at the online forum 4Chan noticed Podesta corresponded with Comet Ping Pong pizzeria owner James Alefantis, discussing a potential Clinton fundraiser.

Buzzfeed reported that the idea of a pedophilia ring masterminded by Clinton and her allies started with an Oct. 30 tweet by a reputed white supremacist Twitter account that in turn cited a Facebook user’s status:

Rumors stirring in the NYPD that Huma's emails point to a pedophila ring and @HillaryClinton is at the center. #GoHillary #PodestaEmails23pic.twitter.com/gkEH5oL269

— David Goldberg (@DavidGoldbergNY)October 30, 2016
From there, various conspiracy theory and fake news sites began spinning out versions of the elaborate but unproven story. (A popular Reddit post detailing the theory has since been removed.)

The gist of the fake theory is that Podesta’s repeated use of the word "pizza" in emails detailed in the WikiLeaks release was actually a code word for pedophilia. Comet Ping Pong was allegedly the base for secret rooms in which Clinton and her allies kidnapped and imprisoned children to be sexually abused, tortured or even sacrificed in the name of Satan. Democrats in both Clinton’s campaign and the federal government have colluded to hide the abuse, the theory alleges.

Some sites have claimed that various details about the pizzeria "prove" that Comet Ping Pong uses coded language and symbols to advertise its secret business to pedophiles. Random pictures of children have been appropriated to falsely illustrate the fake ring’s so-called victims.

The story has circulated on various fake news sites for weeks, although some have since been taken down.

There has been no evidence that any such sex ring exists. But that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists from harassing Comet Ping Pong, its employees and even neighboring businesses.

Comet Ping Pong

Let’s go back to Alefantis, who said he has never met Clinton but supported her presidential bid. The 42-year-old Alefantis was once in a relationship with David Brock, a former conservative commentator who now runs the liberal site Media Matters For America.

The New York Times reported in early November that Alefantis noticed a sharp uptick in his social media traffic in the weeks leading up to the election. People he didn’t know began to send death threats and vulgar messages. Employees and their families also were threatened via social media and text messages.

Alefantis filed a police report about the harassment, and authorities have had to intervene before. One man who believed the fake theory posted video from inside the restaurant and was told by police to leave, the Timesreported.

After Welch fired his weapon inside the popular restaurant, Alefantis blamed the prevalence of fake news and those that spread it for the troubles at Comet Ping Pong.

"What happened today demonstrates that promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes with consequences," he said in a Facebook post. "I hope that those involved in fanning these flames will take a moment to contemplate what happened here today, and stop promoting these falsehoods right away."

Internet response

Even as traditional news outlets have reported on Pizzagate, supporters of the wild theories have argued that attention from the mainstream is only proof that media is in on the coverup.

The hashtag #Pizzagate filled Twitterwith users doubting the coverage of Welch’s activities at Comet Ping Pong, including media denials of Pizzagate’s validity.

One notable conspiracy theorist is Michael Flynn Jr., son of incoming national security adviser and retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. The elder Flynn has previously shown support to other conspiracy theories that Clinton is tied up with alleged money laundering and sex crimes unrelated to Comet Ping Pong.

On Sunday the younger Flynntweeted he was skeptical of reportsthat Pizzagate wasn’t real.

Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many "coincidences" tied to it.https://t.co/8HA9y30Yfp

— Michael G Flynn (@mflynnJR) December 5, 2016
The tweet included another tweet from Citizens For Trump special projects director Jack Posobiec alleging Washington D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham found no connectionbetween Welch and Pizzagate.

We could find no evidence that Newsham said that, only that heinitially told the Post the incident was likely not "terrorist related."

According to the official press release from D.C. police, Welch himself admitted he was there because of the conspiracy theory: "During a post arrest interview this evening, the suspect revealed that he came to the establishment to self-investigate ‘Pizza Gate.’ "

 

uhhhhhh..........I starting to wonder if this #pizzagate shit might be real:

Spoiler

Hollywood & the Catholic Church are examples that this is possible.

 

Yeah it's crazy right.

People will believe anything

 

Sandy Hook Denier Arrested After Death Threats Made To Parent Of Victim





A Florida woman who believes the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting is a hoax was arrested Monday on charges she threatened the parent of a child killed in the 2012 school shooting.

Lucy Richards, 57, of Tampa, Fla., was indicted on four counts of transmitting threats, according to a statement from the United States Attorney Southern District of Florida.

The Sandy Hook shooting is approaching its fourth anniversary. On Dec. 14, 2012, 20 children and six school staffers were fatally shot at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. By Adam Lanza, 20. Lanza later fatally shot himself.

According to authorities, Richards made a series of death threats against the parent of a child who was killed in the shooting. The parent now lives in South Florida was identified in a statement as Len Pozner.

Richards is accused of telling the parent “you gonna die, death is coming to you real soon," according to federal court documents. The statements were made in January. She also wrote, "Look behind you it's death," according to the documents.

While it may seem unfathomable to some that Richards believed the shooting was a hoax, she is far from alone. A small movement of “Sandy Hook Truthers” promote conspiracy theories that allege the shooting was staged.

Pozner addressed Richards' arrest in a statement.

"We are comforted to know that the system is working to protect the victims of violent crime from re-victimization by potentially violent Hoaxers," Pozner said.

If convicted of all four counts, Richards could face up to 20 years in prison. She is scheduled to appear in a Fort Lauderdale court on Dec. 19.

 

Good grief. She needs to get a 20 year sentence and do every fucking day of it too.

 

A lot of people are gullible and will believe anything with a news article attached.

 

That's the rub though. People aren't believing factual news stories or legitimate sources of information. They're choosing to believe opinions and views that fits whatever narrow spectrum that they see the world through. Anything that doesn't fit in that window they look through is automatically considered non factual.

 

In the case of Pizzagate, anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together should have known it is BS, simply based on the fact that Clinton is one of the most famous people on the planet, why would she commit one of the most vile crimes known to man...wait for it....IN PUBLIC?!?!?!?! Not to mention just about everyone has a device that can record, film and photograph, and would be able to provide irrefutable proof if this was the case, not just heresay. People that believe this nonsense should be committed for their own protection.

 

Also if it was reported in a newspaper, then she would be facing a judge by now

 

Omg it's already been four years?

 

Unstable people abound.
Separating her from her awful crime..and the concept of it being a hoax...

There are questions that have been raised, not unlike 911 being an inside job has been raised.

For example..one of the dead Sandyhook kids re-surfaced as a dead Pakistani kid..

http://freedomoutpost.com/bbc-admits-peshawar-victim-photo-noah-pozner-alleged-killed-sandy-hook/

 

There was story that if that was a Black male he would be arrested and reported on the spot within minutes. The treatment would be much harsher too.

 

I dont understand what you are saying here Bliss, are you suggesting there is something to the Sandy Hook deniers claims?

 

Fake news again . It's another example. I hope that's what she is saying

 

"There are questions that have been raised, not unlike 911 being an inside job has been raised."

That seems to suggest, to me at least, that Bliss thinks there is validity to claims that Sandy Hook was staged. If not, hopefully she pops in again to clarify.

 

The Russians were behind production of the fake news. As an effort to rile everyone up and tilt the election for Donald Trump, so he becomes the president-elect.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busi...16af66098fe_story.html?utm_term=.fbd6306857d7

From the Russian Mein Kampf: "Russia should use its special forces within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism. For instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics."

Also interesting: United Kingdom should be cut off from Europe. Russia needs to create "geopolitical shocks" within Turkey

 

Fake news has been around before, and goes beyond, this particular election.

 

Thanks for letting me know.

I hope the electors of the electoral college could vote for someone else besides Trump on Monday. They should be able to because he violates statutes they have to abide by and the Emoluments clause of the Constitution. If they're unable to do so, it could show there's a green light for people across the world, including enemy countries to monopolize on America's elections, society and daily operation.

Donald Trump could do some tremendous damage to us all!

 

Say it ain't so, SNOPES.

Who knew? Lol...Bongs, porn, whores and whips ..and a touch of embezelment..such integrity abounds.

• Facebook has announced plans to check for 'fake news' using a series of organizations to assess whether stories are true
• One of them is a website called Snopes.com which claims to be one of the web's 'essential resources' and 'painstaking, scholarly and reliable'
• It was founded by husband-and-wife Barbara and David Mikkelson, who used a letterhead claiming they were a non-existent society to start their research
• Now they are divorced - with Barbara claiming in legal documents he embezzled $98,000 of company money and spent it on 'himself and prostitutes'
• In a lengthy and bitter legal dispute he is claiming to be underpaid and demanding 'industry standard' or at least $360,000 a year
• The two also dispute what are basic facts of their case - despite Snopes.com saying its 'ownership' is committed to 'accuracy and impartiality'
• Snopes.com founder David Mikkelson's new wife Elyssa Young is employed by the website as an administrator
• She has worked as an escort and porn actress and despite claims website is non-political ran as a Libertarian for Congress on a 'Dump Bush' platform
• Its main 'fact checker' is Kimberly LaCapria, whose blog 'ViceVixen' says she is in touch with her 'domme side' and has posted on Snopes.com while smoking pot

One of the websites Facebook is to use to arbitrate on 'fake news' is involved in a bitter legal dispute between its co-founders, with its CEO accused of using company money for prostitutes.

Snopes.com will be part of a panel used by Facebook to decide whether stories which users complain about as potentially 'fake' should be considered 'disputed'.

But the website's own troubles and the intriguing choice of who carries out its 'fact checks' are revealed by DailyMail.com, as one of its main contributors is disclosed to be a former sex-blogger who called herself 'Vice Vixen'.

Snopes.com will benefit from Facebook's decision to allow users to report items in their newsfeed which they believe to be 'fake'.

It is asking a number of organizations to arbitrate on items which are reported or which Facebook staff think may not be genuine, and decide whether they should be marked as 'disputed'.

....
The Mikkelsons founded the site in 1995. The couple had met in the early 1990s on a folklore-themed online message board, and married before setting up the site.

Profiles of the website disclose that for some time before it was set up, the couple had posed as 'The San Fernardo Valley Folklore Society', using its name on letterheads, even though it did not exist.

A profile for the Webby Awards published in October describes it as 'an entity dreamed up to help make the inquiries seem more legit'.

David Mikkeleson told the Los Angeles Times in 1997: 'When I sent letters out to companies, I found I got a much better response with an official-looking organization's stationery.'

The whole story..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...cludes-escort-porn-star-Vice-Vixen-domme.html